Thread by @michaelharriot

One of my former economics students recently reminded me about a concept I used to call "belief economics."

I haven't taught the course it in a long time, but ever since she reminded me, it perfectly explains why everyone is so focused on Black male Trump voters

A thread:

My "Race as an Economic Construct" class applied economic principles as a framework for understanding the concept of race.

I know you've heard that race is an SOCIAL CONTRUCT - it is. But MOST social constructs are ALSO economic constructs.

Even money.

A $100 bill is more valuable than monopoly money bc society constructed a monetary system. Take the pseudointellectual right-wing conspiracy about the gold standard

Why is gold so valuable?

Sure it's rare. But it's not as rare as rhodium or as useful as iron.

Gold is valuable BECAUSE it is pretty. That's partly why almost every civilization throughout history assigned a higher value to gold.

So the gold standard is an economic construct that's BASED on a social construct

So is race

Yes, race is just something ppl made up

But it does not exist in a vacuum.

While the concept of dividing humans into races based on physical traits has no genetic or biological foundation, the people who initially created the SOCIAL CONSTRUCT also assigned values based on arbitrary social constructs AND ECONOMICS

Once people understand race as an economic construct, it's easier for them to understand that racism is as real as money or metal

For instance. MOST Black students attend majority-Black schools

MOST non-white districts are underfunded

It's easy to say: "That's racist."

Some argue that this disparity is partly due to schools being funded by property taxes.

According to @BrookingsInst, a home in a Black neighborhood is worth $48,000 less than an identical home in a white neighborhood. Black homes are worth less, so local schools get less money

This is partly due to segregation and redlining, which was partly a result of Jim Crow Laws, which is partly due to slavery, which was partly due to the ORIGINAL critical race theory...

I could go on, but here is the more important question:

WHY HAVEN'T WE FIXED THIS???

Because race is an economic construct.

As a society, we have collectively agreed that Black children are LESS VALUABLE THAN OTHERS.

It's the only logical explanation. There isn't a single problem in this country's history that we WANTED to solve but didn't even try

Byt the devaluation of Black people has less to do with hate than it has to do with 2 other economic principles:

Effort cost vs return on effort. Basically, how much you are willing to put into something is based on how much you'll get in return.

Here's a question:

If your job asked you to work 2 extra hrs/day in exchange for $1 million in your 401K, would you do it?

Most people would say the effort is worth the return.

OK, would you do it if the $1 million went to your child?

What if the $1 million went to a child you didn't know?

In each case, your effort is the same. But how you calculate the RETURN on your effort is based on your valuation of the person who benefits.

2 extra hrs isn't much. But if you're not personally benefitting from it, it can feel like A LOT, or like you're working for free.

Over the course of their lifetime, the average college grad will earn $1 million more than an HS grad.

So, while ppl SAY they'd donate a million $$$ to the needy child if they had it, as a society, we collectively decided that equal education is not worth the effort...

BECAUSE SOME kids are less valuable than others

The Black kids.

Race is an economic construct.

But what does this have to do with Black male Trump supporters? Or media? Or the upcoming election?

Well, this is just 1 example of how political narratives become reality

Every media outlet in America knows WHY Black children get an education, it's not a secret.

It's also not a political issue.

Affirmative action is
Diversity, equity and inclusion is
So is "woke" teachers and school choice and school choice and everything but THIS

WHY?

Belief economics.

Simply put, White people's beliefs have a REAL value

For instance, in 2015, unauthorized immigration was the lowest in 10 years. But Trump made white ppl BELIEVE the opposite was true, it became a REAL political issue and we devoted MORE EFFORT to immigration

What's crazier is that we got LESS RETURN. Not only didTrump not build a wall, he removed fewer undocumented immigrants than his predecessors.

The same is true with the current economy, which is doing BETTER than 4 years ago (don't take my word for it. Ask the Economist)

Crime is the same way. If you watch the news, you'd think MS13 gangs and negro thugs are participating in the Purge, but crime is actually down

Here's a secret:

It's a trick question

Year in & year out, people THINK crime & the economy is getting worse, even when it's not

Issues like crime, CRT & trans athletes dominate politics because politicians AND media value white people's beliefs more than Black people's reality

We are not worth the return on effort
Not police brutality
Not voter suppression
Certainly not that underfunded school bullshit

Now here is one more example:

Let's say you read polls that Trump's support doubled among Black men

Or a million articles about it

Or you frequented a social media site that was owned by a Trump supporter who YOU KNOW tinkers with the algorithm to amplify disinformation

It's understandable why you'd believe this and NOT the ACTUAL BLACK MEN who say it's not happening.

You seen the MAGA negroes on Elon's manipulated Twitter thingy.

You live in a place where white people's beliefs have value. You see the articles and read the polls.

But what if you were a journalist?

Then, you'd probably know that, while MEN of every race & ethnicity are slightly more likely to vote Republican than their female counterpart, Black men are STILL the MOST progressive group of male voters in America.

You'd know Black male Trump voters made up about one 1 half of 1% of the total electorate in 2020
White women Trump voters made up ~17%
MAGA white men were ~20%
Everyone else = 12%

You'd know Trump needs 4X more Black men than he got in 2020 for them to be the reason he wins

But let's say Black voices were not devalued and white people's beliefs are correct and the media does not value white people's beliefs over reality.

In that case, I'd be totally wrong.

But that also means for every story. article or tweet about Black male voters...

There would be 34 stories about white women Trump supporters.
There'd be 40 about MAGA white men

Here's another scenario:

Imagine if YOU KNEW you could convince ANYONE YOU TALKED TO to not vote for Trump. The effort to concince each person required would vary but...

You were such a skilled orator, anyone who heard your words would IMMEDIATELY switch their vote. And, anyone who heard you could simply repeat your words, and convince OTHER people to switch their vote

Here's the catch:

You can only give the speech ONE TIME

Which one would give you the greatest return on effort?

giving the speech to ONE Black man

Or 74 white people?

Spoiler alert:

It's a trick question.

No matter what happens, they'll still BELIEVE it's the Black guy's fault.

Even if you don't believe me...

You already bet a million dollars on it.